


Oxford Gene Therapy Project

by Small_Hobbit



Category: Lewis (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-31
Updated: 2014-10-31
Packaged: 2018-02-23 08:59:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2541863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Small_Hobbit/pseuds/Small_Hobbit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is what happens when one Oxford college decides to experiment with genes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Oxford Gene Therapy Project

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the LJ Lewis Challenge Fright Fest 2014.
> 
> With very many thanks to my beta Margaret R for all her help.
> 
> Warning: if you know my usual writing the ending will not be as you expect.

Lewis put the telephone receiver down and looked at Hathaway. “We’re summoned to an urgent meeting – all inspectors and most of the sergeants. It’s a drop everything and come now meeting.”

Hathaway sighed, “Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred pounds.”

“Precisely.”

They all crowded into the largest meeting room in the station. Every available chair had been taken, leaving those at the back standing. Innocent strode into the room looking grim.

“Ladies, Gentlemen,” she began. “There has been an incident in one of the university laboratories and it appears that the situation has grown out of control. An experiment has gone disastrously wrong and we are now faced with dealing with a zombie invasion of at least three of the colleges.”

She paused as there was general laughter at her announcement. Some of the officers checked the date on their phones, thinking it must be April 1st.

“This is not a joke,” Innocent continued. “I would be much happier if it was. For some months a small team have been working on a gene therapy project, which had had some very promising results. However, one of the genes suddenly mutated in an unexpected direction, with some extremely unpleasant side effects. The university authorities have been aware of the situation for the last three days, but unfortunately, in their desire to keep the knowledge contained, they did not inform us. We have therefore had to move directly into stage two of the Council’s Zombie Apocalypse Action Plan. Please collect your named folder on your way out of this room and begin proceedings immediately.”

Hathaway picked up his and Lewis’ folder and they made their way back to their office. They’d just sat down when Julie came in, not even stopping to knock.

“Sir,” she said. “You’d better listen to the local radio.”

Hathaway found the website and turned his computer speakers up. The top item on the site was from a reporter who had been outside one of the colleges. It was short and to the point. When Hathaway tried to play it again the website crashed.

“Right,” Lewis said. “Julie call the team in here, now!”

***

Two days later, Lewis and Hathaway were together in Lewis’ flat. Hathaway had stayed over; his own flat was closer to the city centre and so more vulnerable. Together they were reading through Innocent’s morning briefing, which had been emailed out to all senior officers.

The situation had escalated far quicker than had been expected. Experts had been called in to look at the original cause of the outbreak, as it was being termed. It was now apparent that exposure to the mutant gene would have happened even earlier than originally stated, with the possibility of the reach of those infected being much greater. Each officer had been allocated a list of names of those who needed tracing with the utmost urgency.

What wasn’t explained was how they were supposed to do so. People were fleeing the city and although all police officers were supposed to remain on duty, some had undoubtedly left. Lewis was personally aware of two officers with young families who he had suggested might be better off working elsewhere. Others were undoubtedly already part of the growing number of zombies who were to be found in the city centre and were slowly moving out into the suburbs.

The city infrastructure was failing. The army had been called in, but central government, not wishing to alarm the general population any more than the media were already doing, had delayed sending out the orders and, as with the university authorities, valuable time had been lost.

Hathaway began to phone the rest of the team to give them their instructions for the morning. It didn’t take long; his contact list was already considerably shorter than when he’d produced it the previous day and when he handed it back to Lewis he had crossed out three more names. Lewis nodded as he glanced at it and then the two of them agreed to meet back at the flat in two hours’ time. The final sentence in Innocent’s briefing had mentioned the possibility of needing to fallback and regroup and they would be sharing Lewis’ car in that eventuality as it had more fuel. Hathaway would take his own car for the morning, while Lewis worked on foot closer to home.

They picked up the shotguns they had both been issued with and set off.

***

Hathaway was the first to return to the flat. He had managed to get to the police station to collect the items they would need to take with them when they left the city. He’d had a couple of close calls, at one point being forced to drive the wrong way down a one way street to escape a group of zombies that were closing in on his car. The encounter had left him shaken and it was a relief to him when he saw Lewis returning and opened the door for him.

Lewis was trying hard to get his breath back. He sat on one of the kitchen chairs and gratefully accepted the glass of water Hathaway passed to him.

“I came across a group as I was crossing the park. I didn’t think they’d seen me, but they started to follow me. Fortunately they don’t move very fast or I wouldn’t have been able to outrun them,” Lewis explained.

He drank the rest of the water and then looked sadly at Hathaway. “They got Laura,” he said.

“Yes,” replied Hathaway. “Innocent’s gone too.”

Even as Hathaway was speaking he realised Lewis was rolling up the sleeve of his jacket. Just above the wrist was a clear bite mark. He looked at the mark in horror before looking back at Lewis’ face. For once he couldn’t find anything to say. Instead he pulled up his trouser leg to reveal that he too had not escaped unscathed.

Silently they reached for their shotguns.

The sound of two gunshots reverberated through the flat.

 


End file.
